This is a lesson about the size and scale of planets in the solar system. Learners will kinesthetically model the order of the planets outward from the sun. Then they will use a string and beads to create a model to represent the relative distances...(View More) between the planets. Finally they will explore another model (using a beach ball for the sun) to discuss relative size of the planets to the sun. The lesson uses the 5E instructional model and includes teacher training, pacing guides, essential questions, a black-line master science notebook, a student presentation booklet, supplemental materials, and vocabulary for both students and teachers. This is lesson 1 of the Mars Rover Celebration Unit, a six week long curriculum.(View Less)

In this hands-on activity, learners will build a solar cooker by lining a box with reflective material and adding a translucent cover. The cooker can be used to make food products. This activity recommends use of empty (clean) pizza boxes. This...(View More) activity requires a sunny outdoor location for an extended period of time.(View Less)

This is an activity about mission planning. Learners will use the roles of a navigation team, spacecraft, comet, Earth, and Sun to simulate how mission planners design a spacecraft/comet rendezvous. This activity requires at least four active...(View More) participants and a large open space. Includes mathematics extensions.(View Less)

This activity introduces very young students to measurement, graphing and estimation as they learn how to use a thermometer. The resource includes teaching notes, assessment suggestions, and a vocabulary list linked to a glossary. This activity is...(View More) related to the NASA CERES Students Cloud Observations Online (S'COOL) project.(View Less)

In this activity, students are challenged to predict the next day's weather based on cloud observations, prevailing winds, and barometric measurements over a period of several days. The activity can be done as guided or open-ended inquiry and serves...(View More) as an authentic assessment to conclude a unit on weather. Resources needed to conduct this activity include weather instruments, some of which can be constructed from household materials. The resource includes background information, a pre-activity inquiry exploration for students, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 16 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations.(View Less)

This chapter provides teachers with instructions to install a school weather station, and to build simple instruments to monitor weather conditions. Materials need to create a homemade weathervane include a two-liter soft drink bottle, a shallow...(View More) metal pie pan, a plastic drinking straw, and a compass. Building an anemometer requires plastic cups, soda straws, a pencil with an unused new eraser on the end, a paper punch, and a thumbtack. Thermometers and a rain gauge must be purchased. A data table is included for estimating windspeed using the anemometer. The chapter includes research ideas that allow students to validate their instruments and test the predictive capability of resources such as the Farmer's Almanac. This resource is chapter 15 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The resource includes background information, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 15 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations.(View Less)

In this activity, students build a basic understanding of how a sling psychrometer is used to determine relative humidity and learn how to read a chart to determine this relationship. In addition, the student will become familiar with the concept of...(View More) dew point. Materials need to conduct the investigation include two thermometers, a wooden dowel, wood screw, two washers, a section of plastic straw, and a hollow shoelace. The resource includes background information, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 11 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations.(View Less)

This is a lesson about the field of astrobiology, the study of life in the universe, and ice as a preservative for evidence of life. Learners will consider the relationship between ice and life as they investigate the conditions required for life to...(View More) exist and sustain itself. They will study the impact of freezing on microbes and life processes and will learn about extremophiles, organisms that live in extreme conditions. Activities include small group miming, speaking, drawing, and/or writing. This is lesson 8 of 12 in the unit, Exploring Ice in the Solar System.(View Less)

This is a lesson about detecting ice on the permanently shadowed craters of Mercury and the Moon. Learners will consider what might be in that ice and will examine why the polar regions of Earth, Mercury and the Moon are colder than elsewhere on the...(View More) planets. Activities include small group miming, speaking, drawing, and/or writing. This is the lesson 12 of 12 in the unit, Exploring Ice in the Solar System.(View Less)

This is a lesson about infrared radiation. Learners will investigate invisible forms of light as they conduct William Herschel's experiment and subsequent discovery of infrared radiation. They will construct a device to measure the presence of...(View More) infrared radiation in sunlight, explain that visible light is only part of the electromagnetic spectrum of radiation emitted by the Sun, follow the path taken by Herschel through scientific discovery, explain why we would want to use infrared radiation to study Mercury and other planets, and explain how excess infrared radiation is a concern for the MESSENGER mission. This is activity 1 of 4 at the Grade 5-8 band of "Staying Cool."(View Less)